Professor Is Leading Ed. Policy Review

The frame for the presidential inauguration reviewing stand goes up in front of the White House on Nov. 19. Barack Obama and his guests will view the inaugural parade from the stand come Jan. 20.

—Ron Edmonds/AP

Darling-Hammond was one of several Obama campaign voices on K-12.

By David J. Hoff

President-elect Barack Obama made the first significant education appointment of his transition, naming a prominent education researcher and a frequently mentioned candidate for secretary of education to lead the review of federal education policy.

The appointment of Stanford University education professor Linda Darling-Hammond to the key transition role drew praise and criticism from different quarters of the Democratic Party.

Researchers and educators praised the appointment of Ms. Darling-Hammond, saying her expertise and background on improving teacher quality would inform the incoming administration’s efforts to recruit and retain new teachers and the rest of its expansive agenda for pre-K through higher education. Some also would support her candidacy to be secretary of education, which has been...